Strike a major pain for Parisians

PARIS, FRANCE — A widespread strike by France's powerful unions disrupted trains, delayed flights and brought protesters into the streets Tuesday as workers pressured the government to drop plans to overhaul the retirement system.

Though some transportation employees have been striking for a week, unions intensified work stoppages as Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin took the contested pension reform plan before parliament for debate.

Transport workers joined garbage collectors, who left trash piling up on doorsteps in several cities, and teachers, whose protest could disrupt end-of-year exams for high school seniors. Postal workers took the day off. On a wet, warm day in Paris, travelers crammed into steamy subway and train cars. After a week of slow service, some people said they had had enough.

"Taking public transport in these conditions is unacceptable," said Francoise Lecomte, a French woman at a Paris station. "We are not animals."